Established in 1933 by Seth Haji Abdur Rahim Osman, the Motipur Sugar Factory, located in the western part of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, was once a bustling hub of large-scale sugar production. Today, it’s an expansive graveyard of heavy machinery and equipment, much of it originally imported from countries like Germany and the Netherlands.

The factory was part of a larger 1,200-acre estate dedicated to sugarcane farming. It was an operation that thrived for decades until management conflicts and labour unrest over workers’ pay led to the estate’s transfer to government control and, eventually, the factory’s closure in 1997. Having left thousands unemployed and in financial distress, the decision continues to be a political flashpoint in public discourse surrounding the state’s broader deindustrialisation.

Beginning in October 2024 and continuing across multiple visits, documenting the factory was a considerable challenge. The premises, now concealed beneath dense overgrowth, have become home to bats, owls, snakes, and swarms of mosquitoes. With assistance from a local guard, I was able to venture inside and document the intricate system of rare machinery and equipment that once powered each stage of sugar processing.

Inside, the factory’s laboratory was in disarray, with broken equipment scattered across the room. The main facility, organized in six levels, featured fixed iron staircases connecting the various sections. Many of these iron giants, now rusted and severely damaged, spoke to the factory’s robust industrial design. The roof, broken in multiple places, has allowed rainwater to seep in over the years, further accelerating the machinery’s decay.